BULAWAYO – The Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) and veterans of its former military wing, ZIPRA, are demanding the return of properties and records seized by the government during Gukurahundi in the 1980s.
The death of former ZIPRA intelligence chief Dumiso Dabengwa last month has re-ignited demands for the government to return ZIPRA war records which contain key data.
ZAPU’s acting president Isaac Mabuka told a memorial service for Dabengwa held at White City Stadium in Bulawayo last Friday that there was an attempt to delete the history of ZIPRA.
“ZAPU records have been seized. These records have details of personnel, of ZIPRA deployees at the front and those fallen in battle and those injured. There are mothers, fathers, wives and orphans who still don’t know what happened to their people during the war,” Mabuka said, as ZIPRA veteran and Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander General Phillip Valerio Sibanda looked on.
Mabuka said during a visit to Gwanda South with Dabengwa, they had been approached by a woman demanding to know what happened to her son, who never returned home after the 1970s bush war for independence from white colonial rule.
“She said every time she hears the dogs barking, she thinks maybe it’s her son returning home. So we say please, bring back the records. It is the duty of the state to provide closure to relatives,” said Mabuka.
Among the seized records and materials are cassettes with original recordings of ZAPU war songs. The government also seized several ZIPRA properties, including farms, which have never been returned.
“Those songs need to be broadcast on national radio and television to teach future generations the true, balanced story of the struggle. Those items must be surrendered to Mafela Trust set up by Dabengwa to document the history of ZAPU and ZIPRA,” pleaded.
Mtshana Ncube, a researcher and former ZAPU representative to the United Nations, said: “Dabengwa left unfinished business, he was waiting to bring justice, reconciliation and peace for victims of Gukurahundi. He was also waiting for a return of ZIPRA farms which were confiscated by the authorities. Our files, we don’t know where they are, and for us researchers this is difficult to understand.”
Mabuka said in conversations with Dabengwa, he often wondered if the records had been destroyed, or were being kept by the government.
“He always told me ‘balawo’ (they have them). So, with the leaders of our intelligence services and military here present, we ask you to please find these records and return them to us,” Mabuka said.
